At least 47 job applicants were allegedly defrauded of more than N51.8 million during the cancelled 2024/2025 local government recruitment exercise in Cross River State.
The Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo, disclosed this during a radio programme.
Ekpo said the victims were allegedly deceived, intimidated and pressured into paying between N100,000 and N1.5 million in exchange for local government employment.
According to him, some applicants seeking senior positions allegedly paid as much as N1.3 million and N1.5 million to secure appointments.
He said the discovery followed investigations by a panel set up by the state government after complaints and public concerns over the recruitment exercise.
“The panel found out that as many as 47 victims were cajoled, frightened and intimidated to part with over N51.8 million for fake local government jobs,” Ekpo said.
He added that the alleged perpetrators went as far as issuing fake employment letters to applicants, creating the impression that they had secured government positions.
The commission chairman also alleged that some individuals manipulated the recruitment process to favour family members, including people who were not residents of Cross River State.
“Many of these victims came to open up and submitted evidence which the panel verified. We had guaranteed all whistleblowers security and confidentiality if they came up with evidence,” he said.
Ekpo said the state government was working to identify those allegedly involved in the fraud for questioning, prosecution and other appropriate sanctions.
The state government recently cancelled the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise following the panel’s investigation and recommendations.
However, Ekpo disclosed that 821 people from the previous exercise would be retained, while other qualified applicants would be allowed to participate in a fresh recruitment exercise expected to begin in two weeks.
He assured applicants that the new recruitment process would follow standard procedures and would not be commercialised.
